The BAD List
by DarkElements10
Summary: The BAD List. Beware All Douchebags. The list the girls of Boston spread to warn of the guys who should be avoided. If something happened a name was added. What happens when Zack's, Cody's, and Tapeworm's names are added to the list? Cody and Tapeworm are quickly ruled out. But with Zack's bad boy reputation, it isn't something he can talk his way out of. Slight AU.
1. Chapter 1

**The BAD List**

**By: Riley**

**Summary**\- The BAD List. Beware All Douchebags List. The list that the girls of Boston spread around to warn other girls about the guys that should be avoided at all costs. If something happened, a name was added. But what happens when Zack's, Cody's, and Tapeworm's names are added to the list. Cody and Tapeworm are quickly ruled out—their reputations suffer but they're ruled out. With Zack's bad boy reputation, it isn't something he can easily talk his way out of. But is the accusation true?

* * *

**EYE WITNESS ACCOUNTS**

**MAY 4**

* * *

Eyewitness 1: I was coming back from gym class and saw them talking to each other. She didn't seem interested in him at all, but he kept pushing her. Leaning against her locker, sort of trapping her in. You know, that move where guys press their hands to the wall and think they're so cool? That sort of thing. At first, I didn't think much of it, he does that all the time. And he gets turned down all the time, it's nothing new for him. But I guess he couldn't take it this time. He has a girlfriend though, doesn't he? What kind of guy would do that, let alone with the chance of his girlfriend finding out? What does she think of him now?

Eyewitness 2: Zack Martin has always been like that, with _all_ the girls. I can't even remember the last time he had an actual girlfriend. Like, a serious one. But hearing this, I'm not surprised I nearly threw up. It's disgusting.

Eyewitness 3: Look, I feel bad about this. I really do. It's awful…if it's true. You have to be pretty sick to make up something like this, you know? There's so many guys that have to deal with lies like this. I mean, if it's not real. If it is…well…if you really need to do something like that, then…well…I don't know. It probably wasn't as bad as she's saying. Maybe she didn't actually say 'no'. Like, maybe she just regrets hooking up with him. That's all I'm saying.

* * *

**A/N: **Should I be posting another Suite Life story when I've got so many other stories I'm working on? Probably not. Especially considering one of them is the re-write to my very first Suite Life fic, I'm still working on ending my elemental series I started ages ago, I'm working on a new elementals series, and I'm also working on a story of Zack and Cody in college to go along with this AU of mine. But this idea wouldn't leave me alone. Plus, I'm moving into the end of _According To You_.

So, this is a very tricky story plot I'm doing, especially because of today's social climate, so I am a little worried to post. But, let me know what you think and I'll update again soon.

**Cheers,**

**-Riles**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Suite 2330 was filled with the sounds of gunfire and people screaming, all coming from the crackling, static-filled speakers of Zack's laptop. He sat hunched over the breakfast table, face inches away from the screen, jabbing his left index finger into the 'F' button while his right hand shifted rapidly over the mouse tracker with flurrying fingers. There was something to be said about Zack when he was focused on something; when he wanted it, he went after it. Whether it was a soccer ball on the field, the basketball down the court, or chasing after the high score on some of his favorite video games. Nothing was going to keep him from winning the prize whether in life or in a video game. Depending on what it was that had his attention and that moment, it was getting his character to the next level in Medieval Magic Quest and that was only going to happen when he finishing destroying and taking over the next guild.

He stared hard at the screen, repeatedly widening and closing his eyes as he scanned the screen, doing his best to keep his guild together as they worked to capture the next territory. He twisted his mouth to the side squinting when a sudden shadow shifted across screen. Without lifting his gaze, he increased the brightness on his screen, frowning only when he realized that the shadow hadn't in fact moved.

_Not now, _Zack thought. The thought moved across his brain at a lightning pace, knowing he was only seconds away from something that would, no doubt, bother him. He should've known it was coming; It was only a matter of time until he had no choice but to-

"Zack?"

Zack scowled and slammed his hands on the sides of his laptop, startled at suddenly hearing his name being said. "What?" He barked. Then he noticed what he'd done, easily freezing the screen that glitched out, sending colors kaleidoscope in all directions. One moment he was waving a magic wand and casting a spell into dismantling the last structure within the guild and the next thing he knew, darkness. Zack groaned. No, he growled. Growled between his teeth as he turned to look at Cody, who stood over him as if nothing had happened. "Do you understand what you just did?" He managed to say seconds after his vision flashed red.

He couldn't kill his brother.

Not yet.

Not when they were so close to graduation. He'd wait for the day when they least expected it and then he'd pounce, slowly but surely dragging out his dear twin brother's last breath over—

-"It's just a video game," Cody said with such an air of disdain that Zack wanted to throttle him even more. Instead, he sat back and waited as Cody said, "I mean, I get you love them and all but to put that much of your attention and energy into something so trivial."

"—Like your trivial knowledge of cheese and their relationship to the countries they come from due to their taste and texture is anything of importance," Zack shot back, sarcasm tinging every word. It took a second for his eyes to widen in disbelief. He ran a hand over his mouth, a shaking hand that only just managed to shake a little less than his entire body. His eyes widened in terror, as if seeing a ghost in front of him. No, not a ghost, a mirror image. The mirror image of what looked to be himself but was a strangely similar version of Cody.

Cody smirked.

"What have you _done _to me?" Zack demanded. Cody folded his arms. "You…oh my _God_, I'm turning into you!"

Cody's smirk faded as he snorted. "That'd be the day; when you actually give up video games and junk food enough to want to exercise your brain instead your eye strain." He shook his finger, chuckling to himself. "You know, I can't wait for the day that you get glasses and _you're _the one who's called four-eyes."

"Yeah, but I'd make them work for me," Zack replied. Then paused. He studied his brother closely. There was something to be said about the fact that they were twin brothers. As much as Zack tried to distance himself from Cody as he could—he never wanted to be asked if he was interested in going to Harvard or Yale again—he could still read his brother's mannerisms like reading the back of his own hand. "Are you _still _mad that I accidentally hit you in the eye with that rock?"

"You nearly blinded me!" Cody reminded him, voice turning high-pitched with indignation. Teeth clenching the same way Zack's had done only moments before. There was that creepy twin thing going off again. "You _know _I have sensitive corneas!" Zack knew from the way his brother's eyes squinted that he was reliving the time they'd been visiting their family in Appletown, Texas and Zack had managed to hit Cody with a wayward rock from a slingshot he'd been testing out. Though, as Zack said, it wasn't his fault Cody refused to get out of his way.

Cody, on the other hand, easily shot back that had Zack not continuously taunted him all day to 'duck' at things that weren't coming, he probably would've moved.

Zack downplayed that part.

"Everything about you is sensitive. You can hardly walk through a field of _flowers _without wanting to cry." Zack shook his head. He leaned back in his seat and gestured towards his laptop that may as well have been billowing out black smoke from the fan system. "Do you want to tell me why you had to interrupt me in the middle of my game and crash my computer while you were at it?" He folded his arms, pouting. "I'd say it was your fault, but this thing has been a piece of crap since mom got that two-for-one deal at Cheap Charlie's."

Cody eased himself into the seat across from Zack. He twisted his mouth to the side. "Yeah, I think mine's finally on its way out." He tilted his head. "Should've known that getting a laptop and a half-priced ham wasn't the best deal at the time."

Zack shuddered, suddenly feeling his stomach lurch to the side, remembering how green that ham had looked when their mother had bought it, along with brandishing the laptops they were begging her for. There weren't many things Zack refused to eat, but that something he would gladly starve over. "You mean it finally kicked the bucket after all of those backups of your outrageously nerdy papers?"

"Well, its better than the copious amounts of…" Cody immediately broke off at Zack's wicked smile. Cody frowned, sucked in a deep breath through his nose, looked everywhere but at Zack. He scowled. Shifted in his seat, Blushed a little. "Well, you know those pamphlets..."

"Oh yeah, the ones with the diagrams," Zack agreed. His rapidly raised and lowered his eyebrows. "Those really set the room on fire."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Why do you always have to act like you're so driven by your hormones?"

Zack looked at him as if he were stupid. "Because I'm driven by my hormones. It's called 'life' Cody, and there's not much going on in it." He waved his hand. "Get over it."

"I should be saying that to you," Cody replied.

Zack hummed, lifting an eyebrow. He turned his attention back to his computer, jamming his index finger into the power button, waiting for the dull 'thunk' as it shut off, the wheezing fan sputtering to a couch, silencing for a few seconds then started up once more.

"It's almost time for graduation, you've got your acceptance letter—"

"—You mean my waitlist," Zack interrupted.

No use calling it anything else than what it was. It was a waitlist letter. A real nice way of saying 'thanks but not thanks'. And not a normal acceptance letter. No one thought he would've gotten into NYU anyway. Even he was surprised to see that they'd even taken the time to send an envelope to him. But there was nothing that'd get his hopes up. A waitlist for him to get his grades up before he would be allowed in. _If _there was space.

A deferment, Cody always corrected him. They'd let him know later if he was accepted or not. _Not, _Zack thought, growing more and more desolate as the days passed. Not that it mattered too much, he couldn't hang with the NYU big wigs, not when his grades were as…trash as they were. So when he got the opportunity to follow his dad down to Miami, get a job…it was a bit too hard to pass up.

It surprised him more to find that Cody didn't, in fact, think it was a bad idea. So much so that it worried Zack a little bit.

"And you're going to do big things," Cody interrupted. Zack watched his brother closely. "I've always known that about you. You just need to know it about yourself."

Zack watched his brother for a long moment. Wondered what it was that put on the moment of sappiness the brothers hardly showed each other unless they really needed to. Wondered if there was something Cody wasn't telling him. His twin-telepathy wasn't going off for any scary reasons. Nor was it going off to know Cody wasn't giving him the runaround.

"What is it?" He asked.

Cody shrugged. "Nothing."

"But?" Zack prompted.

"_But_…" Cody chewed his lower lip. He looked away for a second, rubbed the back of his head. Twisted his mouth to the side before an extremely pensive look came to Cody's face. Zack sat up straight. Uh-oh. It _had _to be serious if that look was coming across Cody's face. He'd only ever seen it a few times, when he was working on his papers, trying and failing to figure out what was making any of his experiments and hypothesis not working, and when he had something he really needed to tell someone but couldn't find the words for it. "I…I was…I was thinking—"

"—Dude, you're stammering," Zack interrupted. "You only do that when you're angry about something." He paused, tapping his temple with his fingertip. "No, that's when you're mad at _me _about something. You and Mr. Moseby both do that thing where you start to stammer because you can't come up with words and then you—"

"—Zack!" Cody snapped. His eyes flashed with emotion that Zack didn't quite notice in time.

Zack grinned, pointing at Cody. "Yeah, you do that."

"I deferred NYU for a year."

Zack paused. He looked at Cody eyebrows rising. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He searched the mirror image of his face to see if there was any sign of it being a joke. "You what?" he finally asked. Something rumbled through his chest, through his stomach, burned through him. Something he couldn't quite place.

Anger.

Sadness.

Frustration.

Disbelief.

Disappointment.

All of it rolled into one wave that nearly took him down as it crashed over his head. So it resulted in the same way things he didn't like to hear resulted with him; flat out denial. Avoidance. Acting like nothing was going on, that he hadn't just been told some of the worst news he'd ever heard. It startled him how emotional it made him.

How a lump had formed in his throat, knowing Cody was putting all his own dreams aside.

"That's probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say," Zack finally managed to utter.

"Dumbest," Cody quickly corrected. He winced, unable to help himself, despite the horrific timing. "Stupidest isn't even a word, really. Or, at least, not the most grammatically correct one you'd want to use." He trailed off, seeing something flash through Zack's eyes that he wasn't quite sure he knew how to identify. "I already made up my mind, Zack."

"Clearly you haven't or else you'd know this isn't right for you," Zack said, his raised voice echoing across the suite. He was suddenly glad their mother had left so early for a rehearsal or else she would've been stuck in the argument, unable to keep from getting in the middle of their arguments. (She'd done a good job of keeping to her promise of not butting in so much as they got older, but knew her snooping was only second to her semi-desperate pleas for them to leave her alone every now and then). It was then Zack realized that she probably didn't know what Cody was telling him. Didn't know yet. At least that gave him a little bit of an advantage to how their mother would blow her top. "And I don't want you to do this for me."

"It's not for you," Cody said. His reddening cheeks gave him away. "I just don't think that I'm ready to go."

"Bullshit," Zack said bluntly.

Cody gave him a disapproving look, as he always did whenever someone cursed around him. Not that a 'bad word' didn't fall from his mouth at certain times, but not as easily as the rest of their peers who tended to use it as a form of greeting across any and all of their social media accounts, texting, and video chats. It was a wonder how Cody was able to play some online video games with Zack at times without having to rinse his ears out with soap.

Nevertheless, he didn't take Zack's comment lying down, taking in a deep breath before saying, "I know it'll be hard for you to believe, but I don't think it's the right time. Moving away, leaving mom behind, leaving dad, our friends, everything changing…" he waved his hands feebly. "And then you and I have never been apart from each other and—"

"Ha!"

Zack couldn't help the ugly snort that came from his mouth. So that was it. Cody didn't want them to split up. Normally, it would've been something that would've made a tiny part of him glad to know, a part of him that was relieved Cody felt the same way. But he would never hold back because of…

Because…

Well, he wasn't quite sure.

But he didn't like it.

"You just want to keep an eye on me!" Zack said scathingly. "Because I'm a screw up, right?" Cody shook his head, turned his gaze toward the ceiling. "I'm a screw up and I'm always going to be a screw up and you just want to make sure I don't completely ruin my life and bring you down with me." He stood up and closed the lid to his laptop, shoving it into his backpack.

"That's not it—"

"—Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." Zack stood and heaved his backpack up over his shoulder, but still found himself waiting as Cody moved to gather his own perfectly packed backpack, ignoring his brother when he muttered, "Famous last words," under his breath.

* * *

**EYE WITNESS ACCOUNTS**

**4-MAY**

Riger: Stating my name for the record, I'm Detective Riger, it's the 4th of May. I'm sitting here with

Eyewitness 4: Please can you…can you not use my name.

Riger: I need your name for the record.

Eyewitness 4: I'm a minor, you can't use my name.

Riger: I absolutely can get your name, it just won't be printed anywhere due to the fact that you're a minor.

Eyewitness 4: Okay, but, how about…if any of my information is useful, then you can use it.

Riger: Is there any reason why you're afraid to let your identity known? Please not for the record that my eyewitness is now staying silent, looking away from me. There's more than enough information we already have that will make this case open and shut. But what we need from you today is everything you know about this case. Because there are some people who are in real trouble here.

Eyewitness 4: What do you mean?

Riger: I mean we've got a real he-said, she-said thing going on.

Eyewitness 4: So you think he did it.

Riger: We don't know if he's done anything. We don't know if _she's_ done anything. We just want to know the truth.

Eyewitness 4: The truth?

Riger: Yes. That's what we're all after. Lying, anyone lying, is just going to make things worse. You see, there are some things we know. Some things we've been told. But we need to make sure that, going forward, we're getting all the information we need. As it is, we think we already have the lynchpin to this whole debacle.

Eyewitness 4: What do you mean?

Riger: What can you tell me about The BAD List?

* * *

**A/N: **Well we got started in on the drama real fast, but that's to be said what it means in the whole grand scheme of this story plot.

Thanks for all the encouragement, guys. I was going to write it no matter what, but as I said, it's a topic that's iffy, but it wasn't going to make me back down from it. Thank you, Owl and Tiger for the added encouragement. You guys are always the best!

**Cheers,**

**-Riles**


	3. Chapter 3

**.:3:.**

* * *

Zack wished he'd paid more attention to Cody's words. Took it seriously. Or at least saw it as an omen. Either that, or he should've taken notice of the weird looks that shot his way when he went through the doors of Cheevers High School.

That wasn't entirely too weird for him. People were always looking at him for once reason or another. Firstly, when he first moved to Boston, it was because he as a twin. And he was used to that sort of look. How many times had he been asked the standard twin questions? A thousand.

Who's the smart one?

Who's the evil one?

Who's the good one?

Who's better at school?

If I punch you, will the other one feel it?

Two guesses of how many of those questions' categories he fell under. And two guesses as to how many times he'd managed to sucker punch Cody on the arm even before they were asked that question, to prove a point? And then, of course, there were the ones who went on and on about how "cool" it was that they were twins and wanted to know everything. As if they were some sort of a side show commodity. He understood that, too.

It was cool, in a lot of ways. As much as he made fun of Cody, being a twin was actually one of the best things in life. He had a built in best friend who understood him inside and out. He didn't have to pretend to be anything around Cody and knew it was the same the other way. Cody could be unashamedly himself with Zack; a nerd who wanted nothing more than to be able to talk to someone about his educational pursuits. It went all over Zack's head but at least he was supportive enough to listen to his brother…for the most part. Even Cody, who didn't understand any of the things Zack was interested in listened when Zack went on and on about it.

They had each other's backs and always would.

They may kick each other in the back every now and then, knock each other down a peg when their egos got to be a bit too big, and found themselves comparing themselves to each other a little too much. But were always there for each other. So when their being twins attracted Drew's attention, they quickly moved to be a united front, a little suspicious and ready to do what needed to be done to protect the other if someone went out of line. And Drew, eventually, took a step out of line. They knocked him down a peg together.

Then there were the other looks he got; the ones that made him feel like he actually was someone. And, at his school, he was. He was one of the better athletes his school had ever seen. Cheevers hadn't come close to any of their championships as the years went by, not until Zack and the rest of his grade moved into high school. Yeah, the first year he played basketball he was the new kid who was teased and picked on because he was so small. Because he was new. But he managed to show them what he could do and quickly moved to being the captain of the team. The same thing happened with the soccer team. They were losing until he joined, then they were winning.

And kept winning.

And kept winning.

And then everyone at the school knew his name. Everyone knew who he was. People wanted to be his friend. People wanted to get to know him. And as someone who lived a life of constantly moving around and not having many friends outside of his brother, it was a welcome change. So, he lapped up the attention and took his place at the top of the social food chain.

The third was he was looked at went along with that. He got a lot of attention from girls. When he was younger, he thought girls had cooties. Didn't want anything to do with the. Just wanted to hang out with his brother, run around, get covered in dirt and roughhouse. Girls never liked that, they wanted to play dolls or screeched their heads off whenever the roughhousing got to too close. As he got older, he started to understand that girls weren't so bad. That there were a few of them who actually looked nice, and smelled nice, and made butterflies erupt in his stomach. As he got older, he wanted to have them smile more toward him, wanted to have their attention, wanted to make them laugh.

He was still too young to know what he was doing, saw the rolling eyes and disgusted looks as ways to push forward even further until they said 'yes' or reacted favorably. He had no idea what it was like when things worked out. That's why he had become a deer in the headlights when Max had grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him after that winning basketball game. He could talk a big game, but when it came down to it, he was clueless.

But he navigated through that, to the looks that he ended up absolutely despising. When he was looked at because he was disgusting, because he wasn't what someone _wanted _to look at, because of pity. He had pitying looks when he started to lose weight. No, when he started to lose _more _weight. And even more, and even more. When he started to become skin and bones, when he had his heart attack, and when he came back to school all he received was pitying looks. That was the cherry on top of the cake of pitying looks he'd received over his life.

Your parents are divorced? I'm sorry.

You're poor? I'm sorry.

You live in a hotel? I'm sorry. (Though that was before it was found they lived at the Tipton).

You think you're fat? I'm sorry.

You're compared to your brother? I'm sorry. (And they'd go on to continue comparing them).

You had a heart attack? I'm so sorry. (What guy thinks he looks so bad that he ends up getting a heart attack)?

You're gaining weight? I'm sorry.

You're getting fat again? I'm sorry.

He hated all of those looks.

But he could handle those. They all had some sort of a reason attached to it. It was the looks he was getting on that day of school he wasn't sure to make of. There were those that look at him curiously as he passed, he chalked it up to being a twin. He always got the curious ones when other people weren't sure if it were him or Cody they were speaking to or looking at. Those were the first few looks.

The next batch were the ones where he knew they knew exactly who they were looking at. They knew he was Zack, not Cody. And they were still looking at him. Looking him up and down. The same way he would if it were a girl, he thought was good looking. A once over to see if he were instantly attracted to them or not, then he'd figure out if he'd take the time to get to know them better. It wasn't the same look he was getting.

The looks he was getting were different. Sort of…sinister. Curious. Warning. Disgruntled. Disgusted. Enough so that Zack lifted his arm and sniffed his arm pit, trying to remember if he'd taken a shower that night. He had to have, he remembered Cody shrieking when the cold water hit him, remembered how hard he laughed, remembered how his mother had yelled at him.

But, as it was, he had to take the shower because he hadn't remembered the days before hand when he'd taken a shower. That had to have been the point, he wouldn't have sat on the computer playing games for so long if he hadn't showered the night before. No, it wasn't that he smelled. Cody would've mentioned it the second they woke up.

"Okay, what's everyone looking at me for?" Zack asked, hefting his backpack up his shoulders. He looked to Cody. "I'm not as ugly as you today, so I've got that going for me."

"It's probably that smudge of dirt by your mouth," Cody replied casually.

Reaching up, Zack scratched at the side of his mouth. Something stuck beneath his fingernail. He pulled his hand from his face, studied the brown thing, then stuck his finger in his mouth. Cody immediately made a retching sound and turned his head away from his brother. "No," Zack said, once he recognized the sweet taste. "That's chocolate."

"Ugh!" Cody glared at his brother. "How do you do that? How are you so disgusting and it doesn't faze you?"

"Because it disgusts you," Zack replied. He reached out to press his finger into Cody's cheek and received a hard slap to the hand and shove to the shoulder that knocked him into the lockers he was passing. Zack's cackle of laughter brought more attention his way. His laughter slowly faded and he brought up his arms in a gesture to demand 'what?' and they turned away. "Okay, you noticed that, right?"

"Oh, you mean people looking at you is what you don't want?" Cody said sarcastically.

"Not like this," Zack replied. "I mean, I could imagine it if I set off a stink bomb or something." He shrugged. "But I used my last one on Moseby."

"You know he's still trying to figure out how to clear out that one wing of the hotel, right? It's still closed off. And the hotel hasn't really recouped that money from it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Zack waved him off. "But I haven't done anything here. Not yet anyway. Not unless Miss. Tutweiller finally gave Mr. Forgess everything she confiscated from me."

"In that case, you're probably seconds away from being slapped with a lawsuit," Cody said dryly. He shrugged. "I don't know what's going on. But it must be something." He lifted his head and pointed up the hallway. "Come on, there's the guys."

Zack followed Cody's point and started to smile, seeing all his friends gathered together. His girlfriend. The only thing that made school worth it; being able to hang out with the best people he'd known for hours a day. And they all turned and waved toward Zack and Cody with bright smiles, the biggest from his girlfriend.

That was the only look that mattered.

Until he got to his first period class and heard there was a rumor going around.

* * *

**EYE WITNESS ACCOUNTS**

**4-MAY**

Riger: I'm not going to beat around the bush here. Something serious has happened and we need to know what happened. And this BAD List is one of the biggest keys that we have to unlock everything. So I'm going to ask again…what can you tell me about the BAD List?"

Eyewitness 4: It's…it's not like it's official or anything.

Riger: We know it's not an official document. It may as well be the rumor that is going around. It's a big part of he rumor. We've heard it a lot through everyone we've asked and the BAD List keeps coming up.

Eyewitness 4: Well, if anyone's going to be on it, it's Zack Martin.

Riger: You sound bitter.

Eyewitness 4: No.

Riger: …Did you like him?

Eyewitness 4: No! (A pause before and incredibly indignant shift of tone). Get the fuck out of here with that mess.

Riger: Only the people who'd react that negatively would have some sort of feelings about it. I've seen it many time sin my work, maybe you're hiding something, maybe there's a part of you that hasn't worked through some of your problems. But that's not why we're here right now. I'm not here to judge. It's none of my business. What is my business is what this BAD List has anything to do with what's going on.

Eyewitness 4: Beware All Douchebags.

Riger: What?

Eyewiness 4: The BAD List? It's the Beware All Douchebags List.

Riger: Beware All Douchebags?

Eyewitness 4: It's the name of some list that some stupid girls came up with to get back at some guys they feel like they've been treated badly by. Just because some guy didn't want to kiss her, or didn't want to be in a relationship and they act like it's the end of the world.

Riger: So they made up this list to…

Eyewitness 4: To warn other girls from dating certain guys. At least, that what I've heard. I don't think any of the guys have actually seen it.

Riger: So it's like some sort of a Whisper Network?

Eyewitness 4: A what?

Riger: Never mind. You're saying Zack was on this list?

Eyewitness 4: I guess.

Riger: Do you know if anyone else is on this list?

Eyewitness 4: Like who?

Riger: Maybe you're on it.

Eyewitness 4: Yeah, right!

Riger: You don't think you would be?

Eyewitness 4: I haven't done anything wrong. I go on a few dates, but I know how to treat people right. This was bound to happen. Zack's been nothing but trouble since he got here. And, if you ask me, it was only a matter of time until his ego got knocked down a peg or two.

* * *

**A/N: **Whew, it took me a while to get back to this and I apologize. But I haven't abandoned it. Actually, I plan on seeing this story through to the end no matter how long it takes. So, I hope you all enjoy. As it is, some Eyewitnesses that appear in this story are canon Suite Life characters and others are completely made up.

This story is made to have many chapters but all with a small amount of words to keep the pacing of the story up as well as no to get so bogged down with exposition as I tend to do. I hope it works out well!

**Cheers,**

**-Riles**


	4. Chapter 4

**.:4:.**

* * *

Zack sighed heavily as he pushed through the doors of the Tipton hotel later that afternoon. Home sweet home. He didn't think he'd ever be so glad to see the inside of the hotel he'd called home for so long. Didn't think he'd be so happy to see Mr. Moseby glaring at him from behind his desk, eyeing him carefully as he went.

But that's what happened when he had an incredibly bad day at school. It was bad enough that he had to go, when he wanted nothing more than to not sit in classes for hours on end, wondering when any of the information that was being drilled into his head was going to be used. It was a lot of things.

First, it was not knowing there was going to be a English test that day.

He'd gotten to class, dropped heavily into his seat, glanced at the board. And nearly had a heart attack. His eyebrows rose in surprise. Then lowered in slight panic. A test. Already? Didn't they just have a test?

He asked the question out loud, making Bailey, who sat directly to his left, laugh quietly. Incredulously. She shook her head, turning to Zack, resting her cheek in her hand. "_How _could you not know we were going to have a test? Miss. Tutweiller's been saying it all week."

"Really?" Zack's nose wrinkled. He rested his chin in his hand. "So _that's _what that droning sound was."

"What—?"

"Don't even try to understand him, Bailey," Cody interrupted, lifting a hand. He moved into his seat in front of Zack shaking his head. "I've been trying for years and I still haven't been able to figure that out. It just gives me a bigger headache each time." At that, Zack reached out and flicked his twin on the back of the head, landing a solid hit with his fingernail.

Making a low 'thunk' sound as he did so.

"Whoa!" Zack cried, laughing lightly. "And people say _I _have nothing in my head!"

"We've never said you had nothing in your head." Cody scowled, rubbing the spot that would more than likely turn into a bruise. "Just that everything in it is useless."

He bombed that test, hew as sure of it. No need to even question it. He didn't answer half the questions, the other half he just made them up. But as long as the test was administered, he tapped his pencil against his cheek, studying the words until they swirled and blurred together. Made him question whether or not he truly did have dyslexia, like Bob, who didn't seem to have any issues with his classes and extra time needed to study since he got his routine down. Too bad the extra time couldn't be absorbed and given to other students who needed it.

Zack simply did the best he could—which he knew wasn't amazing—and simply turned in his test when time ws up. Miss. Tutweiller, of course, saw right through it an called him to a stop when he was leaving the classroom that day. Zack sighed heavily, watching Cody look at him curiously—and in mild concern—before leaving to go to his next class.

"If my paper has any similarities to a Wikipedia article, it's a coincidence," Zack said quickly, turning back to Miss. Tutweiller.

Miss. Tutweiller folded her arms, pursing her lips. She breathed in deeply through her nose and said, "That's the least of our problems, Zack."

He knew he was dead then. Miss. Tutweiller had been watching him throughout the test, knew he hadn't answered any of the essay questions to the bets of his abilities. Blah, blah, blah, things that he didn't already know. Then she'd tilted her head to the side and did that thing that he absolutely _hated _and asked if he needed help with anything. Reminded him that she was always there if she needed it. That all the teachers were, that he had the guidance counselor, Mr. Blanket to talk to if needed, if there was anything Principal Forgess could do…

Zack simply lifted his hand, reassured her everything was fine, and left.

As if he needed any other reminders that he had missed a lot of school, a lot of his homework when he was in the hospital for a heart attack. He got that message loud and clear, didn't need other people to continuously point it out to him.

That wasn't quite the worst part of it all, it was all the looks. All the knowing looks. All the whispering looks. The glares. So much so that he had to remember whether he'd put a stink bomb somewhere he'd forgotten. He wasn't quite sure that was possible, he kept track of all that.

But the other things got worse after the whispers; it was the outright glaring he received from some girls, the cold shoulder, being completely ignored by them.

He heard some of the whispers below their breaths.

"Pig."

"Jerk."

"Gross."

"Ass."

Nothing that he hadn't heard from Cody before, but from everyone of the opposite sex who had suddenly turned her back on him. It seemed like everyone he talked to had a problem with him. Or, at least, he'd thought so. His friends were still treating him fine; Max, Bailey, Crystal, Riley, and Rhuben hadn't acted any differently to him. Hell, he'd even made plans for a date with Riley later that night. And if she had something to say about the way he was acting—or smelled—she would've been the first to let him know.

So, he brushed it off.

But then everything else happened; he lost his money for lunch and had to beg Cody for more, which hurt his ego and pride more than anything else, then people continued to stare at him which he knew was because they wanted to know if he'd eat any of it, was unprepared for the rest of his classes where he was told the same things by Miss. Tutweiller, had to have a meeting set up with his parents, Miss. Tutweiller did find out that his paper had been lifted, mostly, from Wikipedia and was going to punish him in ways he could never imagine—if she go the 'understanding' route which would made him want to stab himself with a pen—and got word that he couldn't join the sports teams again until he got the bill of health from his doctor and therapist.

Who knew how long that would take?

Bad news after bad news was enough to make even the tiniest of happy measures to keep him going.

So much so that when he arrived at the Tipton Daycare to start his shift, he was nothing more than ecstatic. Mostly because those kids gave him time to figure out some of the more intriguing pranks, he could play on Moseby, but mostly because he was able to work with Maddie.

Who immediately made him grin the second he saw her. He couldn't help but laugh a little when he saw the frazzled expression on her face when he came in, which instantly turned to relief as she said, "Oh, Zack! I'm _so _glad to see you!"

"You have no idea how many times I've dreamt of you saying that to me," Zack said with a bright grin.

Maddie gave him a look. "I don't have to guess; you've alluded to it enough." He shrugged in response. "Now, do you want to help me or are you just going to stand there?" She returned to the screaming toddlers that clung to her legs, trying to wrestle them apart.

Zack's head jerked back in surprise at her tone. She could be downright brusque when the time came, but her tone was more than that. Sure, he'd gotten on her nerves every now and again, but usually that tone was reserved for the airhead heiress, London Tipton. "Is everything okay?" He went over and easily wrapped his arms around the bigger of the toddlers and pulled them away from her leg, only to grunt in surprise at the strong, koala-like grasp he was then put under.

"Oh, everything's great!" Maddie shook her head, walking the toddlers toward what was supposed to be the napping room, but had a bunch of screaming toddlers running around with another frazzled looking Tipton employee—Millicent, who was sitting in the middle of the floor, crying along with them. "I just have a bunch of screaming brats that want to do _anything _but nap, two kids peed on me and I had the unpleasant fortune of having to deal with all of the socialite moms whose kids actually have a silver spoon in their mouths for a pacifier."

Zack's face screwed up. "Huh?"

He looked over when Maddie waved with her hand, eyebrows rising when he saw the silver spoons that, indeed, were hanging out of a few kids' mouths as they scribbled messily all over their coloring pages. "Wow." He tilted his head. "Do you think that's what they used on London?"

"She probably had a big fat diamond in her mouth," Maddie grumbled.

"Maddie, are you okay?" Zack hefted the toddler off his hip and placed him on the ground next to Millicent, who nodded her thanks before bursting into another round of tears. "I mean, you look beautiful when you're mad but…now you're positively gorgeous."

"Thanks." Maddie grumbled. She led him to the snack area and picked up a clipboard that sat atop the counter. She flipped it over and handed it to Zack so that he could sign in which he did with a quick scribbling flourish. They'd type it into the computer later. She then let out a long breath and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Zack," she apologized. "I'm…just in a bad mood."

"I can see that." Zack eyed her carefully. "This is almost worse than the first time mom had you babysit us."

"Oh yeah." Maddie rolled her eyes. "When you nearly dutch ovened me when we were crawling through all the air vents trying to keep you from crashing the wedding of—"

"—That was Cody, not me," Zack quickly reminded her.

"Oh, right." Maddie nodded sarcastically. "_You _were the one who revealed to the world that you have a punishment kink."

"Only if you're my mistress"

"You know you have a girlfriend, right?"

"And she can kick my ass harder than you, so it's not a problem."

Maddie smiled. She hung her head once more and said. "Sorry, I just…I haven't been having a good day."

"Join the club," Zack muttered.

Maddie tucked her hair behind her ears. "I'm working hard in school but can't seem to keep up, I had to take out thousands of dollars in loans that I have to pay back, I'm working this job and another job, and my dating life hasn't been so great." She rolled her eyes, leaning against the counter so that she could survey the kids that ran around. The crying—minus Millicent's—had subsided but was replaced with excited screeching and screaming as they played. "I went out with this guy last night and he was an absolute jerk. Not only did he make me pay for dinner and the movie, but he ordered some of the most expensive stuff on the menu. He didn't ask me _anything _about myself and talked so much I couldn't get a word in." She shifted her gaze toward Zack then away seconds later. "And, let's just say, he didn't really understand the word 'no'."

Zack's eyebrows furrowed at her words. "You mean…?"

He couldn't find the words to say what immediately came to mind. What he feared. The thing that he didn't think much about, until he had no choice but to think about it. How many times did it come across on the news? How many times were they warned before their big field trips and dances of what could happen with miscommunication? How they were warned to be very clear on what intentions were and how to say 'no'. It was a huge part of the health classes they'd sat through in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades.

'No' meant 'no', simple as that.

There was not questioning it.

Why some people thought that it was negotiable, Zack never knew. Asking someone out a few times…that was different. Asking someone on a date a few times was just to get an idea of how much they liked you. But to push even further than that, when they already agreed to spend the night with you…it didn't mean they were going to _spend the night _with you.

"No, no!" Maddie quickly shook her head. "Not that. He _tried _but…" her eyebrows twitched upwards. "Well, let's just say he's not going to be riding any horses anytime soon."

Zack laughed, relieved. "If he tries anything again, just let me know." He brought up his hands, cracking his knuckles. "He'll never know what hit em'."

"Thanks, Zack." Maddie reached out and ruffled his hair, pushing his bangs into his face. "But I can take care of myself." She looked at her watch. "Do you think you could handle things with out me? My shift ends in a few minutes and…" She pointed across the room. Zack followed her point and grimaced. "I think you're about to have your hands full." One of the older kids in the room had tied three of the younger ones together and was prodding them with a hockey stick. Where any of these kids got these ideas, Zack would never know. He was at least more creative when he was torturing Cody, and with much less to work with.

"I can handle it," Zack said smoothly. "After today, I can handle anything."

Maddie reached out, looping her arm around Zack's shoulders. "Seems like we've both had some bad days."

"Yeah." Zack forced himself to not let his mind wander, to not go into the 'what ifs' that tended to happen when Maddie showed him any sign of affection or attention. "You got your night class tonight, right?"

"Yep." Maddie took the clipboard to the laptop that sat in the corner of the room and pulled up the program for them to sign in. "It's going to be awkward; the guy is in my class."

"Well, if he's smart, he'll stay away from you."

"He's not that smart…just that cute."

Zack smiled.

* * *

**A/N: **Whew, it took me a while to get back to this and again, I apologize. That's what happens when my boredom starts to set in, it can be a real motivation killer, y'know? But here's the next part.

**Cheers,**

**-Riles**


End file.
